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Montana Native Americans
The below information is courtesy of an article entitled Montana Indians Their History and Location. This is a brief overview of the history of various Montana Indian tribes. Blackfeet Tribe The present day Blackfeet are descended from tribes knows as the Blackfeet (Siksika), Kainah or Bloods, and Piegans, all of Algonquin linguistic stock. These three tribes shared a common culture, spoke the same language, and held a common territory. Members of these tribes lived in the present Province of Saskatchewan until 1730, when they started to move southwestward where the buffalo and other game were more abundant. Although there is some controversy over the origin of their name, “Blackfeet” is thought to refer to the characteristic black color of their moccasins, possibly painted by the Indians themselves or darkened by re ashes. Prior to the 1800s the Blackfeet had little opportunity to engage in con icts with either the white man or other Indians. The location of their territory was such that the Blackfeet were relatively isolated and, thus, they encountered the white man later than most tribes. During the rst half of the 19th century, white settlers began entering the Blackfeet territory bringing with them items for trade. The Blackfeet were indirectly introduced to a great variety of trade material through Cree and Assiniboine traders who traded furs and buffalo hides to traders of the Hudson’s Bay Company in the northeast. Realizing the ef ciency of the white man’s metal tools, utensils, and weapons, the Indians were eager to trade for wares that made life easier. The horse and gun soon revolutionized the Blackfeet culture. The white man’s guns offered a formidable new defense against their enemies. Competition for the better hunting territories and the desire to acquire horses led to intertribal warfare. The Blackfeet quickly established their reputation as warriors and demanded the respect of other Indian tribes and the white man alike. Although they were not of cially represented or even consulted, a vast area was set-aside for the Blackfeet Tribes by the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. In 1855, the government made a treaty with the Blackfeet and several of their neighboring tribes, which provided for use of a large portion of the original reservation as a common hunting territory. In 1865 and 1868, treaties were negotiated for their lands south of the Missouri, but were not rati ed by Congress. In 1873 and 1874, the Blackfeet southern boundary was moved 200 miles north by Presidential orders and Congressional Acts. The land to the south was opened to settlement. During the winters of 1883 and 1884, the Blackfeet experienced unsuccessful buffalo hunts. After the disappearance of the buffalo, the Blackfeet faced starvation and were forced to accept reservation living and dependence upon rationing for survival. In 1888, additional lands were ceded and separate boundaries established for the Blackfeet, Fort Belknap, and Fort Peck Reservations. In 1896 an agreement was once again made between the United States government and the Blackfeet Tribe. This time the United States government was asking for the sale of the Rocky Mountains, which bordered the reservation to the west. It was believed that there were valuable minerals there. A commission was sent out to negotiate and heated disagreements ensued with tribal members over how much land and money this agreement would involve. The end result was a cession of land that now makes up Glacier National Park and the Lewis and Clark National Forest. Today this agreement is still in dispute over how much land and money was agreed upon. The Blackfeet Tribe still holds some rights in Glacier National Park and in the Lewis and Clark National Forest. As long as the people continue to appreciate what the Creator gave them, there will continue to be disagreement over stewardship of the land once occupied by this great nation. Crow The ancestors of the Crow Indians came from a “land of many lakes,” probably in the headwaters of the Mississippi or further north in the Winnipeg Lake region. They eventually settled along the Missouri River in what are now the states of North and South Dakota. The people lived in semi-permanent villages of lodges covered with earth. They became known as the “people who lived in earthen lodges.” Nearly 400 years ago the people divided into two factions. One group, the Hidatsa, remained along the Missouri. The other group, the Apsaalooké or Biiluuke, migrated westward and eventually claimed most of what is now eastern Montana and northern Wyoming as homeland. At the time of the breakup, this latter group, numbering about 500, was made up of several families. Its population reached about 8,000 before the small pox epidemic of the middle 1800s. At that time, the Apsaalooké or Crow Tribe traveled in two or three groups or bands, the Mountain Crow, the River Crow and the Kicked in the Bellies. The Apsaalooké chiefs entered into their rst treaty, a friendship treaty, with the United States in 1825. In 1851, Crow Nation entered into the rst Fort Laramie Treaty allocating 33 million acres of land to the Crow people. That land was located in the Montana, Wyoming, and Dakota Territories. The second Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 reduced the Crow Indian Reservation to eight million acres in South-Central Montana Territory. An 1882 Act of Congress further reduced the land base. In compensation for taking the land, the U.S. government committed to buy livestock and build houses. By this time, the tribe had been settled within the boundaries of the reservation for about ten years. In 1890 yet more land was ceded for $946,000. In 1905 the last major land cession was made, leaving approximately three million acres of land for the tribe. The Crow have always felt that the U.S. government failed to give them adequate compensation for the land it acquired. The estimated value far exceeded the ve cents per acre received. In 1904, the Crow Indian Nation rst initiated legal proceedings for just compensation for lands taken. Almost six decades later, in 1962, the Court of Indian Claims awarded a $10,242,984.70 judgment to the Crow. Since 1905, further attempts have been made to reduce the Crow land base. Senator Dixon in 1910, Senator Meyers in 1915 and Senator Walsh in 1919 all sponsored legislation in Congress to open the balance of the Crow Reservation for settlement by the public. These attempts failed. An Act of Congress passed on June 4, 1920, sponsored by the tribe itself, divided the remainder of the reservation into tracts which were allotted to every enrolled member of the tribe. The titles to these lands are held in trust by the federal government and allottees may not dispose of their lands without the consent and approval of the government. The rough mountain areas were withheld from such allotment and remain in communal tribal ownership. Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and Kootenai WORK IN PROGRESS References See full article HERE. Category:Sagas History